Crew 2, Union 1

Sunday

Aug 21, 2011 at 12:01 AMAug 21, 2011 at 4:17 AM

Crew extends Eastern Conference lead

There was plenty of drama in the Crew's victory over the Philadelphia Union tonight, but there could have been much, much more had Andres Mendoza failed to convert a second-half penalty kick that proved to be the winner in high-intensity game between two teams that looked well on their way to the playoffs. With the scored tied 1-1, Union defender Sheanon Williams was whistled for a handball in the box that deflected away a cross by Robbie Rogers. Rogers and Mendoza each grabbed balls and strode to the penalty spot, where they met for a brief conversation. Said Rogers, who earlier recorded his fourth assist in the past four games: "I said I wanted to take it. He said he wanted to take it. So I said 'alright, you take it, but you better not miss." Said Mendoza: "Normally I take the PKs now. Robbie asked me. I said 'no, I'll do it." Good for the Crew that Mendoza converted, albeit in less-than-impressive fashion. Union keeper Fayrd Mondragon, 40 years young, dove to his left and made an initial stop, but the ball trickled under him and over the line. Mendoza's penalty conversion was his third of the season, including the controversial one he took that was meant for Jeff Cunningham when the veteran was one goal away from tying the all-time scoring record. The goal was Mendoza's eighth of the season and first since June 26. His strike partner, Emilio Renteria, gave the Crew a 1-0 lead with assists from Mendoza and Rogers. It was his sixth goal in his 11 th game. Veljko Paunovic tied the sore late in the first half when he headed in a Keon Daniel corner kick. It was one of 13 corner kicks taken by the Union. The Crew took three. "After we scored the goal, they attacked with fury," said Crew coach Robert Warzycha, whose team gave him a gift of three points on his 48 th birthday. "The game went that way. We scored (again) in the second half, and we decided to play good defense." Union coach Peter Nowak spent most of his postgame session with the media railing against officials. He was not happy with the handball call. "Hats off to them. But let them play the normal game. Why every week, we have a call here and there that is questionable? The two best teams? Let them play, let them fight, let them be on their toes for 90 minutes. The better team will win. Then every goes happy home." The Crew went happy home, albeit a half-hour later than normal. The game was delayed 30 minutes in concession to the Union, which did not arrive in Columbus until this afternoon after its Friday flight was canceled. "We're nice," said Crew keeper William Hesmer, who preserved the victory with a reaction save of a Sebastien Le Toux shot through heavy traffic. "We're a nice city, a nice club. We make accommodations. But I can guarantee you this: If we had been the ones that were late there would have been no delay to the game. That's a fact." The Crew (11-7-7, 40 points) extended its lead to six points over the Union (8-6-10, 34). It now leads the Eastern Conference by five points after Houston (8-7-11, 35) beat visiting Real Salt Lake and moved into second place. Kansas City (8-7-9) has 34 points and plays host to D.C. United (7-6-10, 31) on Sunday night --Renteria and Mendoza made their first start of the season together. They had previously been on the field at the same time for only 57 minutes. --The Crew reserves will play the Union reserves at 10 a.m. Sunday in Crew Stadium. Admission is free. --Julius James was shown a yellow card in the second half and will serve a one-game suspension for caution accumulation next week at Seattle. --The Crew Stadium field, recently reseeded and top-dressed with sand, drew poor reviews after the game. "It was tough with the field conditions the way they were," Crew captain Chad Marshall said. "Very sandy. The game probably deserved to be played on a better field, but I'm glad we got the three points at home."